The Kirby Dach chatter isn’t going away any time soon, and the latest reporting only adds more fuel.
Frank Seravalli said several teams tried to land Dach from the Canadiens last June by offering a second-round pick, but Kent Hughes passed on those deals. One of those clubs came out of the Western Conference, and the name hanging over this whole conversation now is Edmonton.
Elliotte Friedman backed up the buzz on 32 Thoughts, making it clear the Oilers are still in the mix.
“I think Edmonton is looking for a right shot center, I think they've been combing what's available; that's why the Kirby Dach rumours have been there.”
That lines up with the broader picture around Montreal’s forward. The Canadiens also shopped Dach more recently in an unsuccessful push to get Kirill Marchenko from Columbus, so this isn’t a one-off rumor - it’s been part of the conversation for a while.
Edmonton’s link makes even more sense when you look at who’s running the show. Stan Bowman, who drafted Dach third overall with Chicago in 2019, is now in charge of the Oilers, and he already added Dach’s brother, Colton, last season. That connection only gives the speculation more life.
Seravalli went even further, saying Edmonton’s interest has been bordering on an obsession with the Canadiens forward.
For now, though, Dach is still in Montreal, and he opened the season with a strong first game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the March 1 trade deadline on the horizon, this is the kind of situation that could finally get settled then.
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That kind of leverage is exactly why any chatter around the Edmonton Oilers and Connor Hellebuyck gets complicated fast. Winnipeg is in position to set the terms, and Edmonton does not have a deep pool of trade chips to work with, which makes the gap between rumor and reality feel especially wide. If a deal ever does get serious, the challenge will not be identifying a goalie of Hellebuycks caliber. It will be finding a package the Jets actually have reason to accept. [Read more 🡒]
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Kent Hughes Went Further Than Fans Realized For A Top Forward
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The interesting part is how far Montreal was willing to get creative in order to make it happen, even if the Blue Jackets never bit. It was a reminder that Hughes is not just looking for smaller upgrades around the edges, and with the Canadiens already among the leagues more active teams this summer, future free-agent windows could bring more swings at impact talent. [Read more 🡒]